1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cutting devices having a table and a cutting unit supported on the table.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, cutting devices having tables are portable and can be placed on a workbench or a floor. A known cutting device has a table for accommodating a workpiece and a cutting unit vertically pivotally mounted to the table. The cutting unit has a circular cutting blade rotatably driven by a motor. With a workplace placed on the table, the cutting unit is pivoted downward, so that the rotating cutting blade can cut the workpiece.
The cutting unit has a handle that can be held by an operator. In order to cut a workpiece, the operator may be positioned on the front side of the cutting unit and holds the handle with his right or left hand for vertically pivoting the cutting unit.
In general, the handle has a vertical-type grip portion extending in a vertical direction. In recent years, there has been proposed a handle having a horizontal-type grip portion extending horizontally. A handle having such a horizontal-type grip portion is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-118383.
When a right-handled operator grasps a handle having a horizontal-type grip portion for operating a cutting unit, the operator is normally positioned on the front side of a cutting blade of the cutting unit and on the left side of the cutting blade and extends his or her right hand to the grip portion in a direction toward the right side of the cutting blade. In such a case, it is necessary for the operator to twist his or her right wrist toward the left side for grasping the grip portion. A trigger type-switch lever is normally provided to the handle on the inner side of the grip portion and is operable for starting the motor. For this reason, in order to start the motor, the operator is forced to operate the switch lever with his or her fingers while his or her right wrist being twisted leftward.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a cutting device having a handle with a horizontal-type grip portion that is improved in operability.